You can see by my blog that I have many interests, including sewing, drawing and writing about various crafty art related things.

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Sunday, 2 October 2011

A Template for life

A template for life. Sounds religious doesn't it? Or like something you would find in a 'women's temperance' pamphlet.

It's just that I've been creating them lately. (Not women's temperance pamphlets)
As I've been sewing each creature again, I have been taking the time to translate the shapes onto a piece of thin card. Time consuming, but at least next time I sew the same shape, all the bits that are relevant will be easily and quickly referenced. So instead of assessing each cut by eye and feel, my previous actions can be re-lived, re-cut and reproduced.

This, however has become a new obsession of late. It's got me thinking why we don't prescribe to this way of thinking for all things?
It would be helpful to every element of my life, from the smallest incidences to the big things. For instance: why is it that I always bang my knee on the bedpost near the door? If I mentally make a template of the path I should take, use that every time I walk through in the room, then voila! No more banged knee!
When placing full carton of milk in the fridge door - push extra hard. Do this every time and no longer will I walk past half an hour later and notice the two inch gap where all the cold and light are spilling out onto the kitchen floor.

But mainly it's the big things that I've been thinking about. For instance, why can't I make a template for dealing with heartache? Cut one giant piece of me into the shape that can handle rejection. take when needed.
Or make a template for dealing with difficult people: cut one shape for poise, one shape for patience and the tricky shape of standing up for myself and finish with dignity.

So, how many times do we need to do the same thing over and over again before we make a mental template? Presumably it happens, or we would never progress: I would still be trying to make a trampoline out of leaves on the front lawn. Or trying to make a cake out of desiccated coconut, or going out with the same egotistical selfish loser again and again until I made a template of how to avoid it (ok, that one I did take a few bashes at).

Taking the time and extra care on these templates has also made me produce more quality work. If it is going to be used over and over, then it had better be the best version of that that I can do. It all comes down to planning in the end. I thought I was terrible at that, but it turns out it's something I can do - and do well. And slowing down to put some thought into what I'm doing, because it is what I will be doing again and again and again -
If I'm lucky ;)